Development and validation of a Chinese translated questionnaire: A single simultaneous tool for assessing gastrointestinal and upper respiratory tract related illnesses in pre-school children

摘要

ObjectivesChildren are prone to contagious illnesses that come from peers in nurseries, kindergartens, and day care centres. The administration of probiotics has been reported to decrease the episodes of such illnesses, leading to decreased absences and consumption of antibiotics. With less emphasis on, and preferences for, blood collection from young subjects, quantifiable data are merely obtained from surveys and questionnaires. Malaysia has a population which is 25% ethnic Chinese. We aimed to develop a single tool that enables simultaneous assessments of both gastrointestinal and respiratory tract-related illnesses among young Chinese children.